Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has said its “first priority” is to develop the services provided at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, which includes its ambition to operate an integrated ‘front door’ model for urgent care.

A public consultation is now open for members of the community to provide feedback on the proposals.

The catchment area of the health board includes all health services across the former county of Gwent (including the local authority areas of Blaenau-Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen) and some of the population of South Powys.

But in its latest statement, a spokesperson has said the Nevill Hall hospital is of particular importance not just for the local community, but the wider region.

“Although our objectives apply to all our enhanced local general hospitals, our first priority is to develop the services provided at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny. There are several reasons for this,” a spokesperson said.

“Exciting investment and development is already taking place on the Nevill Hall Hospital site, with the opening of a radiotherapy centre in partnership with Velindre NHS Trust, to serve the populations from across south east Wales and South Powys, bringing cancer care closer to home.”

The hospital has also been listed a priority due to the urgent requirement for work to remove or repair the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) at the hospital, which has a tendency to suddenly fail due to its limited durability.

The Health Board is looking to ensure that the services delivered become more efficient in what it calls its ‘enhanced local general hospitals’, such as Nevill Hall, Royal Gwent Hospital and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr.

In a statement healthcare experts said they need these hospitals to be as “effective as possible to support our critical care centre at the Grange University Hospital and our community services.”

ABUHB also says it is working with other health boards in south east Wales to deliver services across the region, although it recognises that people would like access to services closer to home.

There is a possibility that certain services could be decentralised away from The Grange to Nevill Hall, such as some Mental Health and Learning Disability Services.

In no uncertain terms, the health board has also said it wishes to provide a women’s health hub at the hospital, as well as a minor injury unit which would provide a wide range of services for non-critical care such as simple fractures and dislocations, wounds and dressings.

There will be a public engagement session on the proposals in the Lecture Theatre at Nevill Hall Hospital Education Centre at 5.30pm on Thursday July 3.

Sessions can also be joined online by emailing [email protected].

To ensure the public can consider the proposals, the health board is working closely with Llais (formerly known as Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council) and an eight-week period of public engagement has been arranged. This will run from Tuesday June 24 2025 until Friday August 15 2025.